Cruel World
by OniKuShita
Summary: He closed his eyes as he leaned his head back; listened to the rustle of the wind while he tried to relax his tensed shoulders. It was not important to act strong when no one was around. For one time; he could be human. [Levi centric]


**Here comes a new OS. This time, it´s a Levi centric fic with no pairings. Like the title already say, it will be a dark one like my other project _Eternal Love. _Enjoy and tell me your opinion!  
**

**Cruel World**

Grey clouds covered the sky, let not a single beam of light pass through the blanket of vaporized water that blocked the warm rays of the sun. A single raindrop fell to the ground to wet the dry earth which tried to absorb every little bit of the salty liquid. One after another, more raindrops hit the bald ground, to be soaked by the earth until it were too many. Small puddles arose from the water which got bigger and bigger with every passing minute. A chilly wind got up, caressed his cheek as he stood on the edge of the wall, watching the rain that hit his body without mercy.

After a few minutes, his whole body was soaked from the water, but he did not care. From his position, he could see miles of fields, but due to the rain he could not see the horizon. In the distance, the huge bodies of the titans walked their rounds outside the wall, looking for humans they could devour. An humorless smirk graced his lips as he thought back to the last fight he had with the these monster.

How many people were under his and Erwin´s command ? How many made it back ?

No matter how long he thought about it, he could not say how many men they lost in this fight. Thirty ? Fifty ? It did not matter. Because with every death, their chance to win this fight became smaller and smaller. Without notice, he clenched his fist as he looked down from the wall to the titans, seeing how some of them had spotted him and walked against the wall and raised their arms in hope to get him on this way. He smirked again.

How pathetic.

To know that they were losing against brainless creatures. He knew that humankind possessed many skilled people whose intellect was excellent in regard to others. They schemed every damn day in hope to find a way to annihilate the titans or to protect the townspeople. But no matter what they did, the titans possessed more power. He seated himself on the edge of the wall, looking down to the titans who tried to reach him while his feet hung freely in the air.

The man did not know how long he sat there, because he gave a damn of his health. Others were not so happy like him to continue living. There were even times when he wished that he was dead instead of all the people who were gone. Would it be important if he was still alive, in this cruel world where only the strongest survived while the weak ones get devoured by the titans ? No, this was not correct. They had even lost skilled man like Mike, humanity´s second strongest soldier. It did not matter if you were strong or weak, because everyday could be your last one.

He closed his eyes as he leaned his head back, listened to the rustle of the wind while he tried to relax his tensed shoulders. It was not important to act strong when no one was around. For one time, he could be human.

* * *

"Corporal ?"

With a scowl, he looked up from his work, only to see a young woman with short golden hair standing in the doorway. She wore like all the other soldiers the green uniform of the scouting legion, with the wings of freedom on her back. Her honey-brown eyes looked expectant in his grey ones as she waited for his response he had not given. Instead, he regarded her from head to toe. Levi could say she was very fragile which let him think how weak she had to be. A titan would surely devour her easily. He often thought when he watched people how strong they were and what kind of skill they possessed.

But of course, he never told anybody about this. He had not the nerve to deal with such people. Levi was so deep in thoughts, that he had already forgotten the girl in the doorway who shifted nervously.

"Ehm...Excuse me Sir ?" She interrupted his train of thoughts as he looked at her questioning, "What is it, brat ?" By his harsh words, she flinched before she collected all her bravery to speak. "M-Mr Erwin Smith wishes to see you." Now, she had his whole attention. He leaned back in his chair. "Did he tell you the reason ?" The girl shook her head, trying hard to look firm. Levi could clearly see how nervous she was. This was something which did not surprise him at all. He was not the nicest person in the world and he did not care that he could be at some point very grumpy. He stood up from his chair and passed the girl without a word. From wide afar, he heard how she called.

"S-Sir!"

But he did not turn around. No, he simply continued his walk to Erwin´s office. Let´s see what he had in store for him. After a short walk through the corridors, he reached his destination and knocked on the door. The answer did not take long.

"Come in, Levi."

Levi did not ask himself where the hell he knew that it was him. He pushed the door open, only to see Hanji and Erwin standing in the middle of the room, with a map spread out on the desk. The two looked up the moment he entered. Slowly, he walked over to them after he closed the door behind and halted next to Erwin.

"What is so important that a brat should get me ?" Levi asked him while he watched how Hanji waved. "Good morning Levi~" He rolled his eyes annoyed by her childish behavior. "Shut up, shitty glasses." She only pouted by his words. Seemingly, he said it too often. The effect of his words was long gone. Erwin watched their short interaction before he cleared his throat.

"Well, I have a new mission for the Scouting Legion." Levi raised his eyebrow by his words. A new mission ? He wondered what this should be. But before he could say another word, Erwin already continued. "But this mission will take place later. I have a job for you, Levi." With a serious expression, Erwin looked to the Corporal who frowned. "And what shall that be ?"

Erwin walked over to a cabinet and took out a piece of paper. With this, he walked over to Levi and stretched out his hand to give it to him. Levi took the letter in his hands, while he tried to study Erwin. Even if both knew themselves since years, he could never tell what was on Erwin´s mind. Erwin smiled.

"I am sure you´ll do a great job."

Levi simply nodded as he took the letter in his breast pocket before he turned around to leave the room. He did not see the watchful eyes of Erwin who looked at his retreating back.

The dining hall was full of members of the Scouting Legion who ate their meals while they talked about the day. Even laughter could be hear of the mouth of the new recruits who were only since one day part of the Scouting Legion. The members who already participated on a mission outside the secure walls did not laugh at all. They had a grim expression on their faces. Nevertheless, it was very loud Levi could tell the moment he entered. His sharp eyes wandered around until he saw a group of new recruits he was looking for.

With firm footsteps, he walked to them, hearing their laughter and jokes from wide afar. He noticed how some eyes followed his every movement and how conversations stopped, only to look at him, the Corporal. It was rare to see him outside of his office. But to see him here was nearly impossible. But like always, he did not care what others thought of him. The nearer he came to the table, the more he could hear.

"Oi Sasha, don´t eat so fast!"

"Connie, just let her be. You can´t reach her with your words."

"But Reiner-"

"He´s right Connie. Just accept it."

"Jean, not you too!"

"Eren, are you alright ? You look very pale."

"Did they really not hurt you ? I neither trust them nor this little chibi. "

"Armin, Mikasa. I am _fine._"

Levi resisted the urge to roll his eyes. What had he expected from a bunch of brats ? That they talked about important things like the next mission in one week ? Or about a way to increase their skill to kill the titans instead of talking about this bullshit ? He shook his head to banish these thoughts as he halted next to the table. Immediately, some of the brats looked up to him confused, before they stood up and saluted.

"Good morning, Corporal Levi!"

The rest of them noticed his presence later and turned their head to him. Their eyes widened as they stood up to do the same. He looked with sharp eyes to the brats who surrounded him, wondering why the hell he had to do this mission. He cleared his throat.

"You all meet me tomorrow at 3 PM at training ground four. Don´t dare to be late." Gasps of surprise could be hear from the table as the brats looked at him with wide eyes. Seemingly, they had expected everything but not this. But they recovered quickly from the shock. "Yes Sir!"

"Dismissed."

Levi said before he turned around to leave the room. He was not in the mood to deal with them any longer. While he walked, he thought what he would do next as he remembered that he had some cleaning duty to do. This would hopefully distract him for a while.

* * *

The former trainees of the 104th Trainee Squad stood all in front of him saluting while he looked at them with the most bored expression. It was a sunny summer morning, no cloud covered the sky. A perfect day to train. He looked shortly to the sky before he guided his attention back to the new recruits who waited eagerly for him to start.

"Some of you have surely figured out why you´re here." He said calmly, watching how almost all nodded their head while a few did the contrary. At least some of them possessed a brain. He stopped in front of a boy. "Springer, why you´re here ?"

"To train under your supervision, Sir!" Levi nodded. "Correct. We´re here to train so I don´t have to worry to loose one of you out there." By his words, some of them relaxed a little, seemingly glad. He noticed that his words were true. He hated it when they lost so many people in the fight against the titans. But that he would admit it so openly...was somehow strange in his mind. He began to walk along the rank of soldiers, watching every single person.

"We´ll start using the 3D-Maneuver Gear. Springer, Brause and Kirschstein. You begin." The three nodded in unison. Levi turned his head to Reiner and Bertholdt. "Braun and Fubar, you´ll set up the fake titans. The rest watch the training." With this, Levi used his 3D Maneuver Gear to reach the branch of the nearest tree from where he would watch the training. After the fake titans were set up by Reiner and Bertholdt, Levi gave the signal for Sasha, Connie and Jean to start.

The three jumped in the air, as the 3D Maneuver Gear guided them to the fake titans. With a battle cry, Jean cut the "flesh"´out of the neck while his body turned around and around. He landed graceful on a tree branch and just wanted to go for the next titan when he saw how Connie approached the fake titan Jean wanted to head and did the same. "Gotcha!" He grinned as he saw his work and landed on the same tree branch to look at Jean.

"My cut is deeper than yours!" He said proudly as he compared the two cuts. Jean only shook his head. "Are you blind ? Of course my cut is deeper." They continued arguing, while they did not notice how Sasha "killed" the other fake titans. When she was ready, she landed on a tree branch next to Jean´s tree and looked to the Corporal who watched the little dispute between Jean and Connie with narrowed eyes. Levi could not understand why these two did not take his training serious. He jumped to the tree branch, holding his blades on the neck of the two. Both froze.

"Springer, Kirschstein. What do you think you´re doing ?" He asked in a dangerous tone while he still hold his blades on the neck of the two soldiers, waiting for an answer. "What the-" Jean blurted out, but when he saw Levi´s glare, he stopped. "This could be a fucking damn mission. You can´t do such bullshit when you´re outside the walls killing titans. What if a Deviant appear out of nowhere and you are too busy to argue with your friends and forget what you shall do ? I tell it to you. The whole formation will fall apart and we all will die."

His words seemed to show effect as the two paled, looking at each other. Levi lowered his blades as he saw that the two seemed to understand what he meant and looked to the rest of the group who had watched the whole situation. He sighed unnerved. This could be a long week.

Levi entered his office after he had done his cleaning duty and instructed the new recruits to help him. When he opened his window to let some fresh air in the sticky room, he could hear the voices of the soldiers.

"The Corporal must be crazy. First, he threatens us with his blades and then he forces us to clean every single rest of dirt." Connie moaned while he swept away the dirt from the ground with a broom while Jean removed the excrement of the horses. Jean only nodded. "How right you are. I always asked myself how a man like him made it to the Corporal. I mean, he speaks like a thug!"

"This is because he used to be a thug." Both boys looked surprised up to see Eren who carried a heavy looking box with him. Jean frowned. "Are you kidding me ? The Corporal was a thug ?" Eren nodded. "I could not believe it myself, but Petra told it to me when we were in the castle. And she is not the type of woman who would lie." Connie and Jean looked at themselves before Connie looked again to the ground while sweeping. "This would explain everything."

"But Eren, don´t you think that the Corporal acts crazy in some ways. I mean, who would threaten his soldiers with a blade ?" Eren thought shortly about his answer before he replied. "I know that Corporal Levi acts not like others, but on this way, you can be sure that he truly means what he´s saying." Jean sighed. "Does this mean you support it that he had beaten you up in the court." Eren´s eyes widened. "Where-"

Jean rolled his eyes.

"Come on, are you really thinking Mikasa and Armin can be quiet ?" Eren fell silent. For a long time, no one said a word until Eren continued. "It was necessary." Both boys looked at him in disbelief. "What do you mean ?" Connie asked as he stopped his sweeping. "I mean that the Military Police had killed me when the Corporal had done nothing. It´s true that it hurt like hell, but I can understand his reasons." Now, Jean and Connie were stunned. It was Jean who recovered first. "Does this mean you _liked _it to be beaten up ?" Eren shook his head. "Of course not!"

"Fine."

Again, no one said a word as suddenly, Mikasa and Armin appeared. The both stopped some meters away from Eren, Jean and Connie. "Eren, what are you doing. You know that the Corporal gets angry when you not hurry up." The emerald green eyes of the brown-haired boy widened as he heard the words of his adoptive sister. "Oh shit!" He said before he continued walking, accompanied by his friends while Jean and Connie continued their cleaning.

Levi closed the window.

* * *

"I-I can´t...any...longer..." Christa moaned while she tried hard to catch up with her friends who ran some meters away from her while she and Armin were the taillight. They ran since three hours through the wood with no sign of an end. She looked up to see Levi who ride on a horse in the front while he watched the group with his sharp grey eyes. As a coach, he was merciless.

"Just a little longer Christa. When we fail, we can´t win against the titans." Surprised, the girl looked to Armin who ran next to her. It was strange to hear such words from him when she saw that he was as exhausted as she. But despite his current condition, he tried to cheer her up. Hesitating, she nodded and smiled warmly. "I think you´re right." Armin opened his mouth to reply something as both heard another voice.

"Oi Christa. Don´t dare to fall for him." Then, they saw how Ymir slowed down to be between Christa and Armin. Both looked at her confused. "Ymir, what-" She did not allow him to finish his sentence as she spoke. "Just shut up, shorty. And don´t dare to touch my Christa." Armin exchanged confused glances with Christa who seemed to be as clueless as him.

"Ymir, I just-" He started to calm her down as the three heard another voice. "What´s going on here, _Arlert_ ?" All three froze by the coldness of the voice and looked up to see the Corporal riding next to them. Just this moment, Armin wondered how long Levi was there. He gulped.

"C-Corporal Sir, w-we just talked about how important it is to not give up on the task of running, even if our legs ache like hell." Levi raised an eyebrow as he looked from Armin to Christa and Ymir. While Ymir looked uninterested away, Christa tried to form a smile on her lips before she nodded. "H-He is right, S-Sir." Levi narrowed his eyes. "When you´re able to talk during running, you should be able to run faster. The titans don´t slow down because you need a break."

With this words, he rode with his horse back to the front where Eren, Mikasa and Reiner were running.

One hour later, they made a break in the wood. Levi said that it would be getting dark soon and that they would spent the night in the forest. Some of the group, like Ymir, were not very excited about this news while the rest thought it was a great idea of the Corporal, was this the first time for them to do something like this. He instructed Sasha and Connie to go to the nearest river to get some water for the group while Eren, Mikasa and Armin should get firewood to made a fire. The rest built up the tents or searched for something to eat. They returned all after thirty minutes.

The sun was setting behind the wall and it was getting darker and darker. Only the fire in the middle of the camp spent enough light for the group to see something. Everyone was gathered around it, only Levi was sitting apart from the group on a rock. Group activities were nothing for him. He was always a person who preferred to be alone. Or better, since his friends´ death. In his dreams, he saw their faces, how they screamed his name in hope he would save them. But every time, he was too late. Because he had made the wrong decision, they were gone. Forever. He would never see them again, hear their voices or talk with them.

_Farlan...Isabel..._

"Am I imagine things or is the Corporal sad ?" Christa asked while she looked unsure in the direction of the dark-haired male who sat alone on the rock. They stopped with their conversations and followed her gaze to look at the Corporal who had decided to stay away from the group. "Perhaps he is hungry." Sasha commented as she ate more from the fruits they had found. "Or he is sexual frustrated." Ymir thought out loud with a grin. Her commented was ignored. "I think he is simply not the social type. He´s often alone." Reiner said with a firm nod while Bertholdt agreed. "I-I am the same opinion as Reiner." Jean leaned back with a smirk.

"If you ask me, it´s simple." He saw how everyone was looking at him expectant. With a serious expression, he raised his finger. "I think he has such a bad character that no one want to do something with him." Jean folded his arms in front of his chest and nodded with closed eyes. But as he heard a sound, he opened them again to look directly in the eyes of Eren Jaeger. "Don´t speak in such a manner about the Corporal." He hissed dangerously whereupon Jean only raised an eyebrow. "Otherwise what ? You´ll tattle me by him ? I am scared shitless~" After his words, he laughed as Eren grabbed after his collar.

"You-"

He raised his fist to beat Jean in the face as it happened. He felt how he lost his balance as a leg kicked his own away and he fell. With a muffled sound, he landed on his back, looking in the venomous eyes of the Corporal who stood above him. "Eren!" Mikasa cried, but was hold back by Armin before she could storm to her brother. After Levi had kicked Eren, he looked around the circle with his sharp grey eyes, ignoring Mikasa´s shout. "I demand an explanation." Everyone silenced as they looked shocked to him after he had kicked Eren. No one had known how fast the Corporal was. "W-We-" Jean began, but stopped as he saw the deadly gaze of Levi. He gulped as he took a seat next to Sasha who was eating faster her fruit in fear the Corporal would take it away from her.

The Corporal looked in every single face, waiting for one to explain the situation. But as he saw Mikasa´s murderous gaze and Armin who was holding her arm, he narrowed his eyes to thin slits. "What is the meaning of this, Ackerman." Mikasa had big problems to suppress a growl as she looked twisted with rage to Levi. No one was allowed to hurt her Eren. When Armin would not hold her arm, she would stormed to him long ago to hit him in his damn face. She took a deep breath to calm down her nerves. "Permission to speak, Sir ?" Levi nodded.

"Why have you done this to Eren ?"

Levi frowned by her words, but said for a while nothing. He could feel the gaze of the others on him what he simply ignored. He looked down to Eren who was holding his aching leg after he had kicked him with all his strength. By a normal human, the leg would be broken. But he knew that Eren´s titan powers would heal it soon enough. He did not have to worry about him. He closed his eyes for a short moment, sighed and massaged his temples.

"I did it because he tried to attack Kirschstein. He could have kill him." Mikasa looked not very convinced by his words, just as the others. "He wanted to kill me ?" Jean asked bluntly as he looked disbelieving to Eren who still hold his leg. He could not really believe the Corporal´s words. Just this moment, Eren recovered from the pain and tried to stood up, but he was hold back by the Corporal who laid his feet on his stomach to press him down. Confused, Eren looked up to the Corporal.

"Corporal ? What-"

"You´ll not move until I am sure you don´t want to hurt one of your comrades." Eren frowned before he looked questioning to the others who seemed to have no clue like him what was going on. Levi still waited for an explanation, but as no one said a word, he decided he would find it out later. With a sigh, he took his feet down from Eren´s belly before he stretched his hand out to help Eren up. The boy grabbed after his hand and stood up from his lying position.

"Sit down, Eren." Levi instructed him and waited for Eren to sit himself next to Mikasa. Then, his gaze wandered to Armin. "Arlert, I want you to give me a report about what happened here tomorrow." The blond-haired boy nodded hesitantly. "Y-Yes Sir." The Corporal nodded before he walked back to his rock to sit himself on it. No one said a word at the fire place for a long time until Christa whispered.

"I think the Corporal is truly sad." This time, no one responded to her statement.

* * *

At dawn, the group left the camp after they had packed together the tents. They walked over the same route they came from so they would not get lost. After they reached a certain point, Levi instructed them to ran the way back, what they did without complain. But for Eren, it was very hard, could he still feel the pain in his leg. He noticed how Mikasa gave him a worried look, but he tried to ignore it. Instead, he looked at the wings of freedom on Levi´s back and thought about the incident last night. It was strange for him why Levi did not trust him after he said he would do it back when Petra and the others threatened him with their blades after a part of his body had turned without permission into a titan.

This memory was clear in his mind. Only because of the Corporal, they trusted him. And for this, he was grateful. This was the reason why he tried to protect him from Jean´s mockery. In his eyes, the Corporal was a strong soldier who knew what it meant to fight and who was strong enough to kill titans without dying.

He was his idol.

"Eren." The voice of Mikasa brought him back to reality. Confused, he looked to his adoptive sister. "What´s wrong ?" The black-haired girl watched his form for a while before she replied with a firm voice. "When this bastard hurts you again, he will regret it." While Mikasa spoke, she clenched her hands to a fist while her body shook in anger. Eren regarded his sister for a moment while he tried not to stop his running before he retorted. "Mikasa, stop babying me. I am not your child!"

"But-"

"I said stop it! I am old enough to handle with this on my own." Mikasa fell silent as she buried her face in the red scarf Eren gave her when she was a child. It was her most precious possession. "Are you ready with your marital spats ?" Eren nearly jumped as he heard the voice and turned his head in the direction of Reiner and Bertholdt who ran behind them.

"Have you heard everything ?" Reiner only laughed. "Of course we´ve heard everything. Your shouts were loud enough. I bet even Armin and Christa have heard it." By his words, Eren looked to the back to see from wide afar Armin and Christa who were talking. It seemed that they had not heard something. With a relieved sigh, he turned back to Reiner. Before anyone of them could say another word, they heard a loud sound. The group saw how Levi raised his head in alarm.

"Stop!"

He instructed them before he rode with his horse in the direction of a cliff where he halted. The group stopped immediately the moment he instructed it to them and waited for more orders. Eren regarded how the back of Levi tensed before the man rode with his horse back to the group. Everyone looked expectant to him the moment he halted. With a grim expression, he looked to the soldiers.

"The base is under attack."

Everyone looked shocked. This was something no one had expected. "A-Are the titans attacking ?" Christa asked horrified. Levi´s expression did not change as he replied. "No." Now, everyone was confused. "What do you mean with _no_ ?" Jean asked while his voice got louder and louder with every word. He was visibly pissed. Levi did not react to his words as his gaze met Eren´s emerald ones.

"No titans are attacking. But humans."

The sun was setting when the group arrived the scene where the attack on the base has taken place. Fire leaked on the building that was used as headquarter of the Scouting Legion for a long time. Dead bodies of some members laid on the ground. Without saying a word, Levi walked to the building to approach the fire, feeling the warmth on his skin.

"Corporal ?"

The soft voice of Christa interrupted the silence while she watched with a worried gaze his back. He did not answer or showed any sign that he had heard her words. Instead, he simply watched how the fire continued burning away the building where he had trained so many soldiers. He remembered the day where Erwin had forced him to be a member of the scouting Legion. How he hated this man at this time. Or later, when he lost Isabel and Farlan. Had he not sworn to never loose again someone who was important to him ? Even if he never said it out loud, the soldiers became like a family he never had. And now, many of them were dead. It passed many time until he raised his voice.

"Finally, they´ve succeeded."

His voice sounded collected like always, but the group could hear a nuance of bitterness. They watched how he clenched his hands to a fist and how his whole body shook. But no one could say if it was because of the death of his comrades or because of the culprits.

"Corporal Levi. What shall we do now ?"

Eren´s words brought him back to reality. There was no time to mourn over the death of his comrades. He was the Corporal and had to make a decision. Levi knelt down to the body of one soldier and took the emblem of him in his hands. He looked for a short time to the wings of freedom in his hands before he stood up. They saw how he turned around and walked to them.

"We´ll meet up with Erwin and Hanji." With this words, he passed the group of soldiers and walked to the stable of the base and climbed up a black horse. The soldiers looked at themselves before they did the same. The sun was already disappeared behind the walls when they rode away.

"I see. So this is what happened."

Levi watched every movement of Erwin who sat in his chair, looking deeply affected by the news of the attack on the base. After they had arrived, Levi had sent the soldiers who were with him to bed. He thought it would be the best when he reported what happened. Levi saw how Erwin sighed before he looked again at the map in front of him. It was the same he had looked with Hanji days ago.

"Nevertheless, the expedition outside the walls will take place." Levi´s eyes widened lightly by his words. What was Erwin talking about ? They had lost over thirty soldiers and the commander wanted to continue ? No, this was something he could not accept. "Commander Erwin, with every consideration, but I think it´s no good when we carry out the mission after our loss. We should wait for more recruits next month-"

"No, Levi. I don´t think the government will give us another permission to leave the walls. The costs for every expedition are high. This could be our last chance to learn more about the titans." Levi looked disbelieving to the commander. Sure, he could understand his reasons, but that he would accept that they loose again 30 percent of their troops after the loss in the base. Knowing that no matter what he would say, he accepted his words.

"Fine."

Erwin saw how Levi turned around to leave the room. He had already the door handle in hands when he spoke. "I know it hurts to loose a comrade, but when we aren´t willed to make a sacrifice, we can´t change something in this cruel world." Levi did not turn around. But he stopped and nodded. "Guess you´re right."

He opened the door and left the room.

* * *

At the next day, he summoned the soldiers he had trained the last days. Levi wanted to make sure that they were ready for the expedition for the next day. When he looked at them, he saw their grim expressions during the salute. He frowned before he turned his head to Christa.

"Why are you all look like shit today ?" Levi asked her in a calm and collected manner like always. There was no sign of sadness in his appearance. You could not even tell if he cared at all about an answer. Christa looked very unsure to Ymir who did not reply her pleading gaze. She gulped as she looked back to the Corporal before she replied.

"W-We´re still shocked about the incident last night, Corporal!" Levi nodded thoughtfully. "I see. But I suggest you not to take this to heart. The moment you give up on yourself, everything is over." Christa and the others looked surprised at the Corporal. They had expected he would say harsh words to them like _´In the Scouting Legion is no place for the weak.´_ But not something like this. Levi cleared his throat before he made a step forward, facing the soldiers with his back.

"After this issue is resolved, we can start with training. You all will run the same way like yesterday." The previously good atmosphere changed quickly in a bad one as everyone moaned.

* * *

"Levi ?"

He opened his eyes and looked back to see Erwin standing right behind him. With a questioning gaze, he watched how his superior sat himself next to the Corporal on the edge of the wall, looking down to the titans who still tried to get the men.

"I was sure to find you out here." Erwin said with a smile on his face. Levi did not look at him as he retorted. "What do you want ?"

"Am I not allowed to talk to my comrade ?"

"No, you aren´t." A small laugh escaped Erwin´s lips as he looked to the black-haired male beside him. But the laugh died quickly in his throat as he saw the expression on Levi´s face. He sighed deeply as he looked away from the titans in the distance while the rain soaked his clothes. Only a few minutes later, he was drenched from head to toe. But like Levi, he did not care.

"Are you thinking of the kids you have trained ?" Levi´s body tensed by his words as a picture of them appeared in his mind. How he have trained them until they were knocked out. How they moaned because of the tasks he had given them. Even if he found it at this time very unnerving, now he would do everything to hear their voices again, even if he knew that it was impossible.

"It was my fault."

He admitted to Erwin as he lifted his head to look like Erwin in the distance where they had lost their life. It was raining like at this moment. They lost their scouting abilities and half of their troops. Erwin frowned by his words. "No, it was not your fault. You could not know what would happen." Levi did not respond. He simply continued staring into the distance.

"What are you two doing out here ?" A voice called from not so far away. Erwin turned around to see the person approaching. "What´s wrong, Hanji ?" The woman halted behind the two, with her hands on her hip. "Nile is looking for you. He wants to discuss with you the fate of the Scouting Legion." Erwin nodded and stood up from his sitting position. "I´ll speak with him."

He looked one last time to Levi.

"Don´t stay out for too long or you get sick." He said before he left. Hanji walked to Levi´s side, following his gaze. "What are you thinking, Levi ?" He closed his eyes as he saw _them_ again. Then, he stood up from his place and walked away while the rain still poured down on him. Hanji followed his back with her eyes until he was gone. She wanted to follow him as she saw a emblem of the wings of freedom lying on the ground. Levi must have lost it. Without hesitation, she picked it up and regarded the emblem.

It was battered and torn in half.


End file.
